As Sri Lanka looks beyond Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat in the presidential elections, the island nation’s history of a bloody war has been retold as a reminder of a past that exists today.

In “The Seasons of Trouble”, Indian journalist Rohini Mohan tells the story of Mugil, once a member of separatist group LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), and her failed attempts to rebuild the lives of her family caught in the war. Then there is Sarva, a seaman, who ends up in a detention centre because he is suspected to be a “Tiger”. It is also the story of his mother, who eventually helps him leave the country illegally.

“No red wine here, please,” photographer Dayanita Singh said as a few visitors, including myself, walked into her booth holding glasses of red wine.

As the preview of the seventh edition of India Art Fair wound down last Thursday, I noticed Singh stamping her books. A large tray held dozens of stamps. A young man, seated in front of her, watched her.

Her love for the wilderness is well known. Since the 1980s, Amritsar-born Naval has taken many trips to the hills of northern India, mostly on trekking expeditions. It’s an interest she inherited from her parents, she said. Her mother, a painter, is a nature lover and her late father, a teacher and linguist, was an adventurer.

When Indian-born journalist Salil Tripathi visited Dhaka University’s Jagannath Hall in Bangladesh two years ago, he noticed an epitaph that had “PAKISTANI” etched in bold on a memorial dedicated to students who were killed in the 1971 war of independence.

The word was added later as an afterthought to identify the nationality of the occupying forces, an act of revisiting history that seemed to suggest clarification of a narrative gone wrong.

In the 1960s, historian Geeti Sen visited Indian artist Jamini Roy’s workshop in what was then Calcutta to buy a painting for her father. Although she eventually picked up a Gopal Ghose, what struck her most about Roy was his accessibility.

“He said, ‘Do you want to buy a painting for 100 rupees or 300 rupees or 700 rupees?’ So I looked at him and I said ‘That’s very interesting’. You first tell the artist how much you want to pay and then he would find the right kind of pictures for you,” said Sen, who was fresh out of college then.

Bulgari should never have left India three years ago, so it’s coming back, the chief executive of the Italian luxury jewellery and accessories company said in an interview on Thursday. Jean-Christophe Babin was in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the opening of the company’s flagship store in India.

Bulgari first came to India in 2004. Earlier this year, the LVMH-owned company received approval to set up single-brand retail stores through a joint venture. With an ever-increasing number of shopping malls and the rising number of rich people, the growth outlook for India’s luxury brand market is positive. According to a survey, India’s luxury market is around $14 billion while the global luxury business stands more than $1.5 trillion. Experts say India is the fastest-growing market for luxury goods, expected to grow higher than China in the next four years.

For a country that associates art mostly with canvases, sculptures and installations, an exhibition showcasing 5,000 years of antique jewellery can be a novel experience.

Walk into the Alamkara gallery at Delhi’s National Museum and you will see more than 200 glittering ornaments placed in 25 dark brown cases. The dim yellow light creates an impression of objects locked in time, some from the Indus Valley Civilization.

Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him. If you’re in India, the chances are that there’s at least one of his novels on your bookshelf or one of his columns in the newspaper in front of you on the table. If you still haven’t escaped from him, there are tons of interviews lately like this one showing up in front of you.

Indian diplomat Navtej Sarna‘s latest book pieces together the history of an Indian “hospice” in Jerusalem. Spread over seven thousand square metres near the Dome of the Rock, the property has its origins in a visit by Sufi saint Baba Farid about 800 years ago.

Farid, a pioneer of the Punjabi literary tradition, supposedly meditated for 40 days in an underground chamber in Jerusalem. His presence brought followers to this site and it “expanded through the centuries as a place for Indian pilgrims to stay.”

About Ankush

"I logged onto Reuters in October 2010, after a 2-1/2-year stint at NDTV. As an online producer, I manage the business content for the Reuters India website, which includes real-time stock market updates on Market Jockey. I write on politics & business and like to travel with my camera in my free time."